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"I hope you see, too, that I do love you, and I did love you all this tiain soh your heart led you down a different road than mine, ill eventually reach the same destination"

She knelt at the water and opened the silver box that contained her erly she lowered the box into the water and let it sink to the bottoaret Delores Kohl, of Sister Mary John, of Nora’s h the water like a pale cloud

"I love you, Mo she had to say, but she said it and she said it s

She unclasped the saint medal she’d worn for a week now

"Every saint ave me Every one but this one"

"Who is it?" Nico asked

"Saint Monica My mother wore it all her life Monica, patron saint ofchildren"

"Is that why she wore it? She thought you were a disappointment?"

"Monica was also patron saint of woht Søren abused you Is that why she wore it?"

"No" Nora looked Nico in the eyes She re her "She gave it toI never knew, but should have Father Greg gave it to her two ot married Only he knew the truth She wore it because of e Not so she could become a nun, but so she wouldn’t have to marry my father who beat her It wasn’t that she didn’t want retted havinghand, Nora reached out over the water and let the necklace go

But before it could break the surface of the lake, Nico caught it

She looked at hihters "I counted ten men my mother had affairs with Those were the ten I saw I know there were others I also knew I looked nothing like my father I knew someday someone would tell me the truth, the truth I didn’t want to know And that person was you Even if this ht turn into your best dream soold band that he wore around it

"My father’s wedding ring," Nico said